The Princess Protection Program by Alex London (review)
2023; Johns Hopkins University Press; Volume: 77; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1353/bcc.2023.a912639
ISSN1558-6766
Autores Tópico(s)Demographic Trends and Gender Preferences
ResumoReviewed by: The Princess Protection Program by Alex London Fiona Hartley-Kroeger London, Alex The Princess Protection Program. Greenwillow, 2024 [240p] Trade ed. ISBN 9780063303874 $18.99 E-book ed. ISBN 9780063303898 $10.99 Reviewed from digital galleys R Gr. 4-6 When a prince wakes Rosamund from a hundred-year sleep with a kiss (rude), she flees through a Door of Opportunity and finds herself in another world: to be precise, in the Princess Protection Program at an academy for royals fleeing their fairy tales. Here Rosamund and her fellow princesses (and one prince) are protected from Uponatimes—fearsome beasts seeking to devour them right back into their rigidly defined Ever Afters—while they study the knowledge that will equip them for modern life: selfies, social media, and lots and lots of cleaning chores. There’s something fishy about the overprotective atmosphere, though, not to mention the way cleaning is all too effective at taking your mind off things. Fairy tale characters on the run from their prescribed destinies are nothing new, yet London’s lively take emphasizes not just individual agency but the effects our choices have on the people around us. The inspirational realizations and teamwork are accompanied by a delightful bit of gross-out humor: a bag of stinky gym socks plays a key role, and a trio of greasy, farting, loogie-hawking, wall-urinating, pizza-slinging teenaged brothers serves as a cheeky reminder that appearances can be deceptive. In fact, given how vital figurative and literal messiness is, it’s a shame (stinky socks aside) that the girls don’t get to be disgusting, too. Though it can’t quite match the verve of The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom (BCCB 07/12), this is still a quick, enjoyable read with a gentle intro to some of the ways a princess (or prince) might not fit into their prescribed, often normative Happily Ever After. Copyright © 2023 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois
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